Epiphyllum
by Tsukiko hoshino
Summary: Tsunade spins a well intentioned scheme and the winds shift. The stagnating waters beneath Sakura's feet begin to churn, spurring her from what she thought she wanted to something more. On the way she learns a thing or two about mending lonely hearts. The gods watch the dance from the unseen world.
1. Fortune Smiles

It begins in the way that all plots and schemes do-a rather innocuous conversation.

Tsunade sat across from her soon to be successor, a half-empty bottle of sake on the table between them. They were well over six months after the Fourth Shinobi war and Kakashi was still dragging his accession out as long as possible. 'Not that I could blame him.' The paper and the politics left her feeling worse than a fight to near death. 'And having to wrangle this bastard is almost as bad.' She huffed, prepared to launch into another tirade that would no doubt be deflected.

"So...any news on Sasuke?" Kakashi purposely veered the topic of conversation from setting a concrete date for the looming ceremonies. He'd rather deal with Tsunade's sour countenance when it came to the last Uchiha than admit he could soon be sitting behind a desk pushing papers and making nice with greasy bureaucrats.

A disgusted sneer curled at her painted lips. "No. And I am sick of being asked by Naruto, Sakura and by you. Sasuke, Sasuke, Sasuke, don't you people have lives? I wouldn't shed one tear on his behalf if he died in a ditch!" Frankly, she rued the day she made that special allowance to let a bunch of genin chase after him rather than set ANBU on the boy. 'Sharingan be damned.'

"Maa...So harsh." Kakashi threw his hands up in a placating manner. "It can't be helped, they love him." His own feelings were still a bit...disgruntled? _Complicated_. 'You can love a person and not like them all too much.' The truth was a bombastic fight and an apology didn't exactly melt away years of worry and regret.

Tsunade snorted. "To their absolute detriment. Especially Sakura's." red painted nails tapped a rhythm on the edge of the empty choko. "I mean really, he tried to drop her in lava! And let's not forget everything else. And if you say 'But he said he was sorry...'" Her voice pitched low in a mock man voice before she continued normally. "I will resign immediately and leave _you_ with the fallout."

Kakashi kept his mouth shut.

"And you idiots let him poke her forehead! After he'd tried to kill her like four, five times now? If I were there…" The cup creaked in between her fingers.

The masked man cringed, realizing he might have made a mistake in changing the topic. "Sakura is a big girl…" who punched what might have been a goddess in the face and could probably put a dent in mountains. "I can't exactly stop her from having feelings." even if said feelings were probably misplaced.

"Of course not. But you don't have to encourage them. And that goes doubly for Naruto-the idiot." Tsunade had thought for sure that the two of them, her student and her hope would slip seamlessly together. 'But that boy just wants to sit in the background and let his chance go by without a peep.' It wasn't like him at all, it was disappointing. "There are so many better men in the world than Uchiha Sasuke." She grumbled and dropped the cup to fill it again. 'If I weren't trying to cut back I would just drink from the damn bottle.' her patience with that would no doubt shatter by the end of the night.

"Konoha is a big village, but it's not exactly _the world_." Kakashi intoned dryly, thumbing the next page of a well-worn book. He truly hadn't meant anything by it, just a statement thrown out to show that he was in-fact listening to her tirade. That was a mistake.

The well-liquored wheels inside her head whirled, her eyes flitted to the cover of the book and an idea that could have sprung from Jiraiya's head began to take form in that moment. "No, it's not." the smile Tsunade gave was nearly salacious, it seemed to stretch from ear to ear. The gleam in her eyes was what set him on edge.

"...What exactly are you thinking?" The devious, scheming smile she graced him with almost sent chills down his spine. 'I've clearly made a miscalculation somewhere...probably when I first opened my mouth.' Kakashi realized. 'Maybe even before that.' it's uncomfortable, feeling as though he has been inadvertently outmaneuvered.

"Me?" She asked, eyelashes batting innocently. "I'm just thinking of how best to serve inter-village relations!" even if she wasn't chortling to herself, no one would buy that her thoughts were purely innocent. So when Kakashi finally lifted his steel-grey eyes from the pages of his book she composed herself. "Really, it's exactly as you said; Konoha isn't the world and Sakura has been here her entire life."

The times that girl had left the village were always about business, about the salvation of a lost soul. The struggle of life over death and a war for the fate of the world. No-there was hardly any time to see it and _enjoy it_. "All I'm thinking is that I can serve two purposes with one move." she held up a well-manicured finger. "Number one; Get Sakura out into the world, expose her to more...experiences, people, places." and hope that whatever she saw or did weaned her off Sasuke once and for all.

"And number two?" So far nothing sounded too bad. 'I might actually go as far as to say that I agree with the line of thinking.' perhaps the motivation behind it less so.

"Number two, we organize a little...tour. Sakura does a stint of seminars around the villages and _we_ come off looking like magnanimous saints for offering her renowned expertise at zero cost to them. An olive branch so to speak." Tsunade had by now refilled her cup and was sipping at the liquid it contained quite smugly.

Kakashi sighed, the flutter of the pages whispering as he at last laid down the book. "It's not that I disagree with the intent and it would certainly look good on our behalf. It's just that I have low expectations that it will have the effect on her you're hoping. If Sakura were going to change her mind about him by now…" he left the rest unsaid because even if he thought it was demeaning that Sakura would so easily slip back into her girl-hood ways he would never say it. 'Not unless I wanted to die by blunt force trauma.'

A scoff met his ears. "You men are all the same." Tsunade groused, flipping her hand into the air. "You ever think low expectations have played a factor in her feelings? You all think that because she loved Sasuke since before she was a tween, she's got to love him forever. It's like you can't even conceive a different outcome." it wouldn't surprise her at all if those perceptions bled into Sakura's views, forming some sick self-fulfilling prophecy.

It was abhorrent to her. 'But I'm smart enough to know if I presented this case to her she'd take it as a challenge to prove how wrong I am and how totally, perfectly in love she is. Stubborn Chit.' Tsunade remembered a time when she had been young, stubborn-she still was. 'and arguably dumb with youth.' She knew from experience that the best way to get through to a person like that was letting them think they'd come to the conclusion all on their own. 'I am going to lead that horse to water and by the gods it's _going_ to drink.'

It isn't that Tsunade thinks Sakura is less than because she loves him. It isn't that she doubts that Sakura feels something for Sasuke-whether the depths go as deep as many assume she does not know. 'It is simply that I wish better for her.' She wants more than a biting, distant love for the girl she knows has so much more to give if she only had the chance. All Tsunade can do in truth is offer a golden opportunity to upset the balance of things and watch the chips fall where they may.

That part of her rant felt like a rather scathing, and perhaps deserved rebuke. It wasn't as though Kakashi was unaware of his foibles as a teacher. He loved his students, they would always be those cute, cheery, smug little bastards he met so long ago. it didn't matter if one could crush boulders with her pinky, or that the other two were...whatever they were. 'And perhaps that's part of the problem. Maa, this is becoming emotionally draining.' He hated that almost as much as he did paperwork.

'In the end, what could it hurt? No harm ever came from broadening one's horizons.' And frankly, out of Team 7 and Team Kakashi she was the least traveled. Naruto and Sasuke both have spent years traveling outside the village, and he, Yamato and Sai had been on numerous, extensive missions beyond it. If anything it would be a benefit to Sakura. "If you feel that strongly about it I won't disagree."

"Not a word of this conversation to her, or anyone else." Maybe it was the alcohol, maybe it was the thrill of her wily plan stirring her bravado that triggered her next turn of phrase."It'll work-I'll bet on it!" Tsunade slapped her cup onto the table.

The choko, despite the treatment it had suffered through the night, remained unharmed and would go on to survive many more abuses in the not too distant future. On that night, as the late summer cicadae sang The God of Fortune did indeed smile benignly at Tsunade from behind his golden fan as he moved through the world unseen.

* * *

After the end, I really do go through periods where I hate Naruto...and then I remember all the things I love about it and come crawling back.


	2. Eye Of The Sun

over the ocean outcast with nowhere to go  
a brighter forecast, new winds will blow  
a storm is drawing near  
it calms and the air is clear  
waste my youth chasing kites  
i know will blow out of my hands  
-Chasing Kites (Iamamiwhoami)

* * *

Sakura hadn't really been sure what to expect when she walked through the doors to Tsunade's office, but it certainly had not been this. "I'm sorry, you want me to what?" her eyebrows slanted in confusion, gaze focused on the woman sitting behind the desk. 'It's not that I didn't hear her, it's just that I can't believe what I am hearing.'

"Tsk." Tsunade chucked the scroll she'd been holding out at Sakura's head, watching as the girl caught it deftly in one hand. "Since you seem to love the sound of my voice I'll repeat myself; You are being given an A-rank diplomatic mission. You will be giving a circuit of seminars and workshops around the hidden villages. We want to look good, open, and caring. You know how it goes."

Sakura nodded, running a green painted thumb over the details she held. "Uh Huh...but why me? If you're looking for a diplomat to broaden ties between the villages, Naruto is the one everybody loves." it wasn't as though she doubted her own merits, but he had a way of reaching people that she lacked. Or at least she never saw it in herself.

"You'd be surprised at how much clout you've got and Naruto is going to be drop dead busy learning the ropes of bureaucracy in the next few months. He'll be starting under my tutelage and carrying on under Kakashi's. This isn't just about diplomacy. It's also about teaching and generating interest in future medics and helping the other villages to advance in that field." an easy and almost entirely true explanation.

"The minor details are in the scroll, but suffice to say you will be spending about two months on average in each village starting with Suna, then onto Iwa, Kumo and Kiri before returning home. Should you choose to accept." Tsunade eyed the minty green nails that were fiddling with the mission scroll. "You will accept, yes?"

"It's just a really long time to be away," Sakura admitted cautiously. 'Far from home, from my family and friends...and what if Sasuke-kun comes back while I'm away?' There was so much she wanted to say to him, to ask him. 'But every time I'm face to face with him I lose the words.' Sometimes it felt like she was that academy girl all over again.

There were times after he was gone and Sakura thought about the way she acted a wave of embarrassment would wash over her but then she would think about the next time they met and it was gone.

Her teacher's honey coloured eyes seemed to look right through her, in a way that made her feel like a squirmy little genin. 'No matter how old I get, I don't think I will ever get one over on her.' Skill wasn't a sure win over experience.

"If the other thing you're worried about is What's-His-Face coming back while you're away don't bother." Tsunade didn't deign to dignify him with even a name this time. "If you can wait an unspecified amount of time he should be able to wait at least a few months-if he cared to." She was a firm practitioner of the tough-love school and staunchly ignored Sakura's flinch.

Shizune who had most certainly not been listening at the door the week before patted the younger disciple on the shoulder comfortingly. "You have to admit it would be a unique experience, Tsunade-sama and I spent several years traveling. There really is nothing like it." Of course, a good portion of that sabbatical had been fretting about Tsunade's drinking, gambling, and near-crippling depression. "We came out all the better for it." She smiled because that was the truth.

"Sakura, it's your decision but I highly advise you agree to it. Don't be the girl who just waits for things to happen. If you sit still, nothing changes." Tsunade could see that look, the same look of the girl who'd come begging her to teach her all those years ago simmering in her green eyes and knew. 'And the fish takes the bait.' she'd give herself a good celebratory pour later.

'I don't want to be known as the girl who just sat around on her laurels and waited. I've worked hard, but that doesn't mean I should stop…' Whatever was, or wasn't happening with Sasuke wasn't going to change in a few months. Her fist clenched the scroll. "Okay, I'll go." This step could be what she needed, Sakura had reached the goal of standing besides Naruto and Sasuke as well as she could before their sudden leaps in power. 'Now it's time for a new one.' She just had to figure out what came next.

Tsunade refrained from smiling too widely. "You'll leave by the end of the week,I have to finalize a few more arrangements with the rest of the Kage now, and it gives you ample time to get things settled." Half the Konoha 11, and a few special ops were probably going to make a big stink about her going away. 'It's not like I won't miss her but we all have to make sacrifices.' With that she shooed a hand towards the door, giving Sakura leave.

The days that followed were a whirlwind, Her parents took the news full of pride and mild fretting in equal turns. Did it matter to Mebuki that her daughter was now a well-seasoned Ninja that had studied under a Sannin, fought in a war and punched a god-like being in the head? No. she was thoroughly convinced her only child would starve, or alternatively stuff herself with junk food until she croaked.

'And as for Dad he's oscillating between boasting about how great I am and weeping.' There were worse things than being smothered by her parents, something she had learned all too well during the war. If only everyone else would stop making a big deal.

"It's only a few months," Sakura complained as she sorted her belongings into various categories. "Not years."

"Over half a year plus throw in travel time. Four of those months you'll be spending in Iwa and Kumo." The blonde harrumphed, crossing her arms over a shapely chest. "You'll be thankful for the fuss after that." They may have fought together and they might be allies but they were still arrogant pricks in her opinion. "You're going to be all by yourself in foreign villages. You'll probably die of loneliness."

Whatever rebuttal she meant to give was interrupted by the loud "Sakura-chan!" That filtered in through her bedroom window. Naruto had taken it upon himself to clamber into the room, grinning all the while.

"Naruto!" Sakura greeted fondly, dropping the standard-issue joining pants she had been considering. "What's that?" She nodded at the poorly wrapped bundle tucked under his arm.

He scratched at his cheek in a bashful manner. "A going away gift, I figured I should give it to you before you packed everything up." He thrust it into her hands before turning to Ino. "Sakura-chan definitely won't be lonely. She can make friends anywhere, dattebayo!" of course that wasn't going to stop him from writing letters to the friends he did have in other villages to make sure she was doing alright.

Sakura unwrapped the odd-shaped item from its newspaper nest and smiled. In her hands was a large clear glass jar, filled to the top with every color of Konpeito. The iridescent candies caught the light and glimmered like the stars they emulated. "Thank you, it's a very...sweet gift." She pulled at the cork sealing it and popped one of them into her mouth before shaking the jar at her companions enticingly.

"Ugh. Looks like your Dad's puns have rubbed off on you after all Forehead… Empty calories." Ino pouted as she rolled one in between her fingers. She tried not to pay attention to the twinge in her chest caused by mentioning fathers.

"Please-you're a Kunoichi, calories won't kill you." Sakura huffed and set the jar with the rest of the non-necessities she was packing, it included a few pictures, some books and other odds-and ends like various shades of green nail polish. Not for the first time she wondered if she was overpacking, even if just about everything was going into sealing scrolls.

"Sugar is bad for the skin too." but Ino popped the sweet into her mouth nonetheless.

Naruto spotted the pictures of Team 7 the original from their genin days placed next to a second that included Sai and Yamato but lacked Sasuke. "Next time we should get one of all of us."

"That might be difficult since Sai and Sasuke-kun together are like two wet cats in a bag." Sakura mumbled, stretching out a seldom-used scarf. It never snowed in Konoha so the only use it ever saw was during missions. She promptly tossed it back into the closet. 'I probably won't need it.' honestly, she was feeling a bit lost on what to bring-besides everything.

"They only had a short time together before Sasuke left." Naruto whined he was convinced that if the two of them hung out often enough they'd suddenly click. He was the only one who thought that." and the words kept tumbling because when it came to her he turned into a clumsy mess. "But I get the feeling it'll be a while before we're all together again. With you going away and I-uh got a letter from that bastard…"

"He sent you a letter? When?" Something in her own voice made the sugar on her tongue bitter.

"Yesterday. It's dated a few days ago, It's not super long or anything. He and Taka are piddling around Sound, trying to get it in order while the Kage decide what to do with Orochimaru. That's about all he wrote, Dattebayo." The dirty look Ino was giving him couldn't make him feel any worse than the stiff smile Sakura gave him. 'I hate this, what am I supposed to do, lie?' He'd hate that even more.

It was all Sasuke's fault; first, he acted like a total nutcase in the cruelest way possible before reaching an almost normal state of being but then out of nowhere just before leaving the village he gave her some ambiguous damn forehead poke. 'And now he's back to giving her the cold shoulder, Bastard.' Although Naruto guessed that he didn't have much room to talk considering he couldn't even be honest about his own feelings. 'In the end, we're all a bunch of cowards. Funny how saving the world is easier than facing your feelings.'

"I'll tell him to write to you some time." Naruto has already done that. Hinted and half begged knowing that in the end, Sasuke wouldn't do anything he didn't want to do.

"No, it's fine." Sakura stacked her seminar notes and plans together as she took a breath. It hurt that after everything, after thinking something had changed nothing really had. 'He's still far away and he's still uninterested.' The only thing she had of him was his gratitude. "He's busy, so am I and you will soon be too." She teased.

Naruto threw his hands up in frustration. "I know it's important to learn all that paperwork and boring stuff but I'd rather be going with you, dattebayo." his cheeks puffed into a pout as he locked his hands behind his head. "Since tomorrow is your last night home, team dinner at Ichiraku's!" He cheered.

'Somethings just don't change.' Sakura thought fondly, brought back to the days that felt forever ago, when they were all just a bunch of wanna-be Shinobi. "Right. Tomorrow then." And just like that Naruto was out the window in a whirl of orange and black.

Ino huffed, throwing her arms around the taller girl. "That was rude, I want to go to dinner too."

"Who said you can't?" Sakura grinned.

"Maybe I'll bring Shikamaru and Choji too then." Ino hummed thoughtfully. "Sakura...about Sasuke…"

The pink-haired girl grunted, shoulders slumping. "Can we not? I already feel pathetic...and you shouldn't be comforting me about him, you've had it so much harder. " her eyes felt gritty all of a sudden. "I feel bad for leaving...who's going to take care of you?" Grief didn't end at a funeral, and there were times Sakura saw that distant, hazy look come across Ino's eyes as the pain of loss set in.

They'd won a war, and there was joy in that but there was sorrow in their losses too.

Ino smiled wanly, studying Sakura from the corner of her eye. Her hair was getting longer, pink strands fluttering close enough to rest between her shoulder blades. "Don't be. I won't talk about him if you don't want me too and the better question is; who's going to take care of you?" she sighed, dropping her head to the other girl's shoulder. "You'd better write, like all the time."

"Of course." Sakura laughed. "It'll probably be boring though."

Time went by, her packing continued long after Ino left, still stuck mulling over the things she should and shouldn't pack. One day passed into the next and just like that the realization that she would be gone for quite a bit finally set in.

'Well, the good news is that this place will probably be exactly the same when I get back.' Sakura thought, starting at Ichiraku's the night before she was set to leave. She could already hear Naruto yelling at Sai about something. "You guys are so loud." she scowled despite the fond feeling that lingered in her chest.

"He started it!" Naruto complained, cheeks already full of noodles.

Kakashi who was surprisingly not late waved a hand in greeting.

"I was only asking-" Sai began only to have his face pressed into the table by the blonde next to him.

"You were asking nothing-dattebayo!"

Yamato, having enough of the nonsense fixed Naruto with the usual look at brought his antics to an end, dark eyes wide and face shadowed as he held his chopsticks menacingly. "Is this a going away dinner or not?"

Sliding into the vacant seat next to Sai she nodded to Teuchi and Ayame. "The usual please." If Ino did show up she'd have a hard time finding a place to sit. 'Well Ichiraku has gotten super popular.' Maybe it would be different when she got back after all. Sakura wasn't sure how to feel about it. Ichiraku was as familiar to her as her own house was they were there so often.

"I understand that it is customary to receive 'Going away' presents from friends." Sai began, turning to her with a not-quite fake smile, but one that was still rather stiff. "This is mine to you. I have titled the book "Friends' " he placed a small thin book on the table. Titling was something he was trying to get the hang of, and he could think of no better name for it then that.

"Oh." Sakura blinked, and flipped through the pages there were images of their team inside, and a few of Ino and herself. "Oh Sai, this was so nice of you." she sniffled, suddenly feeling the fact that she wouldn't be seeing them for some time.

"Crying does not improve your looks." Sai's smile did not slip, but it did look fairly strained. "It was not meant to make you snotty."

The sudden brush of a hand in her hair had her looking up at Kakashi instead of threatening Sai. "Maa, it's still hard to believe you're not the same kid." The soon to be Hokage said, patting in her pink locks. "My gift is telling you you're my favourite." he teased ruffling the hair messily. He hoped this trip would do her good whether it ended as Tsunade wished or otherwise.

"Hey!" Naruto complained but then wrinkled his nose. "Nevermind she's my favourite too."

"Mine too." Yamato chimed in, smiling serenely. He'd passed a thin,cloth-wrapped parcel across the table. "From me and Kakashi-Senpei."

"I cannot choose between Sakura and Naruto as my favorite." Sai frowned. "I have also been told that writing letters is important for maintaining bonds over long distances. I shall write to you." he promised.

Sakura giggled into her bowl. "Thank you, and you don't need to choose a favorite." She was really going to miss seeing them, even if they could be annoying. Inside the cloth wrapping was a red lacquered tantō, about the length of her middle finger to the middle of her wrist. "Thank you, it's beautiful."

"And sharp." Yamato grinned. "That's the important part."

Time seemed to go by so much faster than she could recall, soon she was home laying a bed she wouldn't see for months trying to catch a few precious hours of sleep even as nerves ate away at her. Sleep came slowly, but it did eventually creep up on her and by dawn she was on her feet, gathering the bag stuffed with sealed scrolls and a few essentials.

Giving her room one last look and noting how bare it now seemed Sakura gave off a sigh as she shut the door behind her and walked down the stairs to bid her parents farewell.

"Try to eat well." Mebuki huffed, watching the girl scarf down a few of the Onigiri she had already prepared, some for breakfast, some for the journey. She's made them with Umeboshi in the middle. "Maybe learn to cook while you're on your own."

Sakura smiled over the rice ball. "I'll try." she probably shouldn't though, making rice was about the only food she could manage without burning it. 'Which is pretty sad considering I can cook up some mean antidotes and other concoctions.' She kissed her mother on the cheek before turning to her Dad. "Well?" she spread her arms out expectantly to the teary man.

"My baby!" Kizashi bawled, crushing her small frame into a bearhug. Too anyone else, the strength in it might have hurt but it was her and she didn't mind it at all.

"I'll be back before you know it." Sakura patted his ridiculous hair when he finally set her down.

"I already know it," Kizashi grumbled, lacking his usual joviality. 'Watching your kid grow up is hard.' he sighed, slumping when Sakura was gone from the room with a wave and a flutter of her hair.

The day was clear and bright, the sun in full view, no clouds to impede it. She hoped the weather would  
The gates were in sight when Ino bowled straight into her panting with dark circles under her eyes. "Turn around!" the blonde barked, yanking and unzipped the backpack attached to the slimmer girl. "Don't open the gift till you get to Suna." she patted the almost overstuffed bag shut, throwing her arms around Sakura once more. "Be sure to tell me in descriptive detail of all the hot guys you come across."

"Did you stay up all night?" Sakura frowned. 'What did you just put in my bag?' It didn't feel all that heavy whatever it was.

"I did, and it was worth it." Ino pushed her towards the gate. "Get going. I hate long, messy goodbyes." They'd just end up sobbing anyways. 'We're so lame, crying all over the place these days.' She didn't stick around to watch Sakura's retreating back, she just put one foot in front of the other like every other day.

Tsunade did, in fact, come to see her off Shizune and Tonton in toe. "Well, big day." The busty woman grinned. "Feeling nervous?"

"Maybe a little," Sakura grumbled, finding no point in hiding it from her. Tonton snuggled against her calf, oinking her own farewells.

"No shame in it." Tsunade's arms wrapped her in a rare, warm embrace. "I'm not giving you a gift for going away." she pressed their foreheads together. "But when you get back we'll have a drink together. When you come home you won't be a kid to me anymore." She smirked and loosened her arms.

"Don't encourage the development of bad habits," Shizune mumbled under her own breath. "You don't have to worry, you'll do fine. You always have." She dropped a small pouch of sachets into one of Sakura's side pockets. "Some detoxifying tea-never know when it'll come in use." and it tasted pretty good, carefully made following her own recipe.

"Thank you, both of you." Sakura bowed respectfully.

Tsunade waves her hand dismissively. "Bah, enough of that, get going! Your escorts are waiting." She jerked a thumb to something green at the corner of Sakura's vision.

"Sakura-san!" Lee waved energetically by the exit, Tenten at his side.

"Oh! Lee-san." Sakura glanced briefly at the retreating forms of her mentors before moving quickly to join the remnants of Team Gai. "Tenten." she shared a grin with the weapons master. "Good to see you both."

"Hope you don't mind us escorting you...to be honest, this is more of a memorial trip for us-for Neji, reliving some of the good times I guess you could say. I think Tsunade-sama was trying to kill two birds with one stone."

'I think I get it.' Team Gai had come out the roughest of the Konoha 11, one student cut tragically short and the teacher crippled. It made sense to her they'd want to honor him in their own way. She was sure if he could be Gai would be with them too."I'm grateful for the company."

Lee's eyes wibbled with gathering tears and Sakura's heart squeezed at seeing them. Saying 'Don't cry' wasn't an option, so she just wrapped an arm over his shoulder.

"Sakura-san you're too kind! In honor of Neji and in Gai-Sensei's name we shall sprint to Rivers in record time!" He wept, tearing away to run blazing through the gates.

"Ugh." Tenten and Sakura echoed as one.

"Brings back old memories, doesn't it?" Tenten said looking out through the gates as they set off in the direction of The Land of Rivers. It's was a few days run to Suna at a brutal pace, a few more at a less urgent one and Lee was welcome to run as fast as he liked, but neither woman was willing to push it too hard.

It was strange, traveling without someone years older than her and leagues of experience. Breaks were marked with funny stories about Team Gai-which there were no few amount of. She ended up sharing the Onigiri stowed in her pack. 'The last taste of home for a while.' but she didn't mind giving a piece of it away.

Trees gave way to grassland and rolling verdant fields, the land cracked with waterways the longer they went. It was hard mistaking it even after the time had passed. "I made a huge mess," Sakura mumbled, looking down into the cratered earth she had helped create during her battle with Sasori.

"Sakura-san's punches shook the earth that day." Lee nodded. "Neji couldn't tell who was winning at first, only that you and your opponent were evenly matched...but I had faith!" He flashed his teeth and thumb in her direction.

"Must have been strange fighting your own copies." She wondered what that would be like; her strength matched blow for blow. 'Catastrophic.' Sakura shuddered.

Tenten hummed, flicking a Kunai around her finger. "Nothing like defeating that Akatsuki guy. Even now, remembering what you said about him is...terrifying." She shuddered.

Terrifying was one word for it. 'Sad is another.' The deceased puppet master had been a lot of things, but ultimately learning what she had about him Sakura felt a lot of pity and regret-not for killing him but for the way that his life had turned out. 'Scarred, lonely children with empty pits inside, holes they can't and don't know how to fill except through violence.' She knew too many people with stories like that.

Some people got through it and some people like Sasori fell, consumed by the rot inside them. The honest truth was, as frightening as he had been, as appalled by his actions and his world view as she was that battle had helped to shape her into what she was now. 'For at least that I am thankful.'

They stopped there for the night, Sakura listening to the wind blow through the grass as she laid on top of her bedroll. "I wish there was something I could do to prevent more people like him...like Sasuke and Sai.' and then there was Gaara too. His story began just as dark, but he'd clawed his way out. 'No one can do it alone.' he'd had help, every success story had someone to lean on, to believe in and be believed by.

The thoughts lingered in her mind even as sleep reached its fingers out and she fell into empty dreams until she was woken to take the last watch. Even in times of peace caution had been drilled into them. In the morning they ate ration bars and continued on their way. At some point, the rolling green grasses became dried and withering things, clinging to the craggy increasingly sandy ground. They stopped to refill canteens while they could.

"Ah, you can feel the Desert setting in!" Lee cried, feet meeting grainy sand for the first time.

Tenten swiped a bit of sweat from her face. "I forgot how hot it was."

"You and me both." Sakura rolled her shoulders, the straps of her bag were beginning to wear on her after so many days carting it around on her back. At least after sunset, the temperature would drop.' Thankfully I brought sunscreen.' She was the type to burn and healing it was pure agitation.

The Sun's eye bore down on them from above to watch as she had for so long, her gaze leaving the path before them bright and clear. The God of Wind's breath was still, a rare occurrence in the land they traveled.

* * *

This chapter is very much transitional, setting up where people are in the aftereffects of the war-which is mending and trying to figure out where they are in their lives.

Well, next chapter we get to see Gaara. So yay.

This took so long because I took a break to write a Sasosaku one shot that I really struggled to write lmao. I'm planning to continue it in a longer format in conjunction with this one. So I'm hoping for a chapter a month on both.

If you see any major mistakes in writing please lemme know so I can retroactively edit it. I always think I have them all after the 3rd proof-read but alas.

Late 2019 and 2020 are apparently me shipping Sakura/Suna!Red Heads. (•‾⌣‾•)و ̑̑


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